KIA Tigers right-hander Kim Do-hyun, who is in charge of alternative selection, tasted the starting victory against his former team.
Kim Do-hyun started Game 9 of the season against the Hanwha Eagles in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 19th and won the starting victory by allowing two hits, four strikeouts and one run (non-earned) in five innings. Kim Do-hyun’s starting win came in 1,381 days since October 7, 2020 (Gwangju Double Header Game 2), when he was in Hanwha, and unfortunately, the opponent team was KIA at the time.
He pitched 68 pitches (43 strikes and 25 balls), followed by fastballs (24 strikes), slider (15), curveball (14), change-up (10) and two-seam (5). The maximum speed and average speed of fastballs were 153 km/h and 151 km/h, respectively.
Kia has been agonizing over its starting lineup since the beginning of the season. Following Lee Eui-ri and Will Crow, Yoon Young-chul was also out of the lineup due to injuries, which put the team in a crisis. After Lee’s and Crow’s injuries, Hwang Dong-ha and Cam Aldred minimized the gap, but due to Yoon’s injury, it had to agonize more than ever due to the substitute selection.
KIA initially planned to give Kim Geon-guk a chance to start, but decided that Yoon Young-chul’s absence would be prolonged, so it selected Kim Do-hyun, not Kim Geon-guk, as an alternative starter. As Kim Do-hyun has played various roles in the bullpen since the beginning of the season, it was the coaching staff’s idea to take charge of the mound as long as possible as a starting pitcher.
Kim had 60 to 70 pitches planned on the day. The coaching staff, who did not want much from Kim, had already planned to send Kim Sa-yoon as a second pitcher. “It is important to win the game that Do-hyun took the mound, but I think it will also be important to increase the number of pitches as he has to rotate the rotation for the time being,” Kia manager Lee Bum-ho said before the game. “We will focus on making physical conditions so that we can throw 6-70 pitches without paying attention to the score.”
When I opened the lid, I found that the result was better than I expected. Kim Do-hyun ended the first inning with three outs and three outs in the bottom of the first inning, signaling a smooth start. He was shaken for a while when he allowed one run in the bottom of the second inning, but immediately regained stability and pitched the inning without any additional runs.
After the bottom of the third inning, he continued pitching without any additional runs, completely blocking Hanwha’s batters, and keeping the mound even after over 60 pitches. Eventually, he left the mound as a winning pitcher by taking responsibility until the bottom of the fifth inning. KIA won 7-3 thanks to stellar performance by its batters and bullpen, giving Kim Do-hyun the starting pitcher.
After the game, Kim Do-hyun said, “I tried to play the same game without thinking that it was a friendly team, and I’m glad that I got a good result,” adding, “I thought we should cut off the innings one by one rather than thinking that we should throw better. I was so happy to throw five innings in a long time.”
“We didn’t have any discussions during the game. Honestly, I was busy doing what I had to do, but I kept clapping when it rained,” Kim said, expressing gratitude to infielders for their solid defense.
Kim played in many innings while constantly holding the ball throughout the five innings. Jonathan Peraza, a foreign batter of the Hanwha Eagles who was struck out as the leadoff batter in the bottom of the fourth inning, even gave a thumbs-up to Kim. This means that it was difficult for opposing batters to overcome Kim’s pitching capabilities.
“I haven’t seen (Peraza’s movements). I think I need to watch it again,” Kim said. “I don’t think about limiting myself. I want to throw it up to 155km/h once when I have strength, but I think I should pay more attention to control now.”
He also didn’t forget to mention what needs to be supplemented. Kim Do-hyun pointed out, “The brothers asked me if I was weak in the last inning. I felt like I was hitting something less. I think I need to supplement that well.”
How did Kim Do-hyun prepare for the game when he was notified of his starting pitching after Yoon’s injury? “I would have been a little nervous if he had been in the second division and told me to start (in the first division), but I wasn’t nervous because I had adapted to the situation. I wanted to contribute to the team,” he said. “I didn’t mean to throw long innings. I thought it would be a bit awkward if I gave a walk to Ahn Chi-hong with no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, so I threw more concentrated, and I wanted to concentrate on each and every batter.”
Having achieved better-than-expected results in his first start of the season, Kim plans to gradually increase the number of pitches he throws. The head coach hopes to prepare himself enough to throw up to 100 pitches before the end of the season. 룸알바
“I think we should continue to throw step by step and increase the number of pitches,” Kim Do-hyun said. “I think the starting is more of a constitution than a bullpen. First of all, the coach gave me a chance to start, so I think I should prepare well and take the position somehow.”
